Exiled Read Online Free PDF

was, deep down, she knew what she had done went way beyond forgiveness.
    She paused to stare out of the window, down to the streets far below. She had the feeling things were out of control, racing ahead of her, and she hated that. Learning how to keep a strict control of every facet of her life was how she’d survived for so long. And it had been a hard lesson.
    But to go home. To walk once more beneath the crimson moons.
    And did she really have a choice? Shayla was right. They needed to stand before the Goddess. She could sense the weight of their stares, their eyes boring into her back and she turned slowly.
    “When do we go?” Jarrod nodded his approval. “Three days from now will be the time of the witches’ moons on Arroway; the moon magic will be at its strongest.”
    “Which gives us three days to plan.” She crossed the room and flung herself down onto the sofa beside Jarrod. “So how do we do this then?” Somehow, they had to return to Arroway, get into the Keep— the very stronghold of the Order—reach the tower, and wake the Goddess.
    Should be easy. Not.
    First things first. Returning to Arroway.
    “Will Malachai be waiting for us?” she asked. “Can we expect a welcoming committee when we arrive back? He has to be, right? He must know we’ll try and rescue the Goddess.”
    “Maybe,” Jarrod said. “But if Malachai has a weakness, it’s that he cannot understand any other motivation than his own.”
    “Which is?”
    “Power,” Jarrod said.
    “And I would think right now—his own survival,” Tallon added. “He must know if this gets out then his life is worthless.
    He’ll be trying to find a way to make the portal work for him. Is there any chance he’ll succeed?” Cass thought it unlikely. “It was only ever the witches who had the knowledge to open the portals.”
    “Yes, but now he’s steeped in moon magic. Maybe it changes things.” She frowned—that didn’t make any sense. “He has the moon magic—how?”
    “My guess is he’s been bolstering his power from the witches he breeds, using part of their magic to strengthen the enchantment spell but the rest to increase his own powers.”
    “Shit. The bastard.” Shayla whispered something to Tallon and he frowned then shrugged though he didn’t appear happy. “There’s something you need to know,” he said.
    “And that is?”
    “Malachai is my father.”
    “What?” Jarrod asked and Cass could hear her own shock reflected in Jarrod’s question.
    “He told me it was why he didn’t have me killed straightaway. It might be of use.”
    “Maybe,” Callum said. “But I’m guessing he’s written you off by now. Your last meeting hardly ended on a friendly note.” Cass nudged Jarrod. “Hey, that makes him your father-inlaw.”“Thanks.”
    “So we go in,” Tallon said, “expecting some sort of ambush, we kill them, make our way to the Keep, find the Goddess, wake her up, and we’re done.”
    “I suspect getting in to the tower will prove the hardest part,” Jarrod replied. “Are there any in the Order who would help us.”
    “Perhaps, if we can show them proof.”
    “The pleasure slaves might help,” Freya said.
    “And what are they going to do?” Cass asked. “Bite off a few warlock dicks?” Tallon winced.
    “You can be a real bitch, you know that?” Jarrod said.
    She smiled sweetly. “Yes.” Freya merely grinned. “What a great idea. We could synchronize it. But I was thinking they could get us through the Keep.
    They move freely about the place and no one really notices them.”
    “Maybe we could all go in disguised as pleasure slaves,” Shayla suggested.
    Cass didn’t like the idea, but she could see its merits.
    “That might work,” Freya said. “Or at least I can go in first and speak to them, see if they can help.” They talked backward and forward, and Cass found her mind drifting. For so long, she had felt solely responsible for everything; it was strange to have others to make